Originally, Han Yunhua thought that the total strength of these more than a dozen infantry divisions was only more than 300,000, and the chances of winning against the Japanese army of more than 300,000 were not great, after all, the commander of the Japanese army this time was not Tada Jun or Binshan Yuan, but Okamura Ningji, who had the most far-reaching strategic vision and the sharpest tactics in the Japanese army.

Moreover, Okamura now has 13 infantry divisions and several strategic and technical divisions in his hands, and his troops are sufficient, his morale is high, and his combat effectiveness is extremely terrifying. In addition, the Japanese army had just experienced a major rout, and hundreds of thousands of troops were wiped out in just two months, which was tantamount to a thunderbolt for the Japanese army, which had always been conceited and proud. Therefore, at this time, the Japanese army, whether it was an ordinary soldier or an officer, was holding back their anger in their hearts, and they all hoped to fight with Han Yunhua's department as soon as possible, and then be ashamed. Under the effect of the mentality that the mourning soldiers will win, the Japanese army is bound to win this battle.

However, Han Yunhua's side had to fight, and if he didn't fight the troops, he could be preserved, but there was no reason to continue to stay in the area north of central Hebei, and with Chiang Kai-shek's character of preferring to humiliate foreign countries rather than domestic slaves, it was very likely that he would forcibly take back the Beijing-Tianjin area regardless of the constraints of the actual situation, and then Okamura Ninji would probably take back the Beijing-Tianjin area in its entirety at a very small price. Therefore, strategically, this battle must be won, and only after it can it continue to occupy the Beijing-Tianjin region. Only by fighting can we deter Xiaoxiao, and only then can we ensure that the Eighth Route Army and the Communist Party will not be looked down upon by the Nationalist Government.

From a tactical point of view, the Japanese army in Shandong has always been constantly provocative and arrogant, thinking that the continuous influx of reinforcements into Shandong can immediately counterattack North China. In addition, the infantry regiment of the 1st Field Division is now surrounded by the Japanese army, so the soldiers are unwilling to fight this battle, and it is more likely to cause a low morale.

At the same time, Han Yunhua knew that the current expansion of various units was very strong, and the troops were uneven, and their combat effectiveness was definitely much worse than expected. Through the investigation of the intelligence department, Han Yunhua learned that the Japanese army transferred this time were all new units that had just been formed, and these little devils were all recruits who had just joined the army for less than half a year, and most of the troops had never been on the battlefield, so it was okay to use this opportunity to train soldiers.

The reason why the Inner Mongolia Military Region has been able to rise in such a short period of time is that it has played a very important role in replacing training with battles. Therefore, whether from a strategic point of view or from a tactical point of view, this battle is imperative.

After strategic deployment, Han Yunhua divided all the troops into three clusters, the first cluster was composed of the 300th Division, the Ninth Division, and the 10th Division, and was unified under the command of the former enemy headquarters composed of Yang Chengwu, Cao Lihuai, Mo Wenye, and others, and the goal of the first group was to directly attack Dezhou along the line of Hengshui, Longhua, and Wang Tong. The second cluster was composed of the 1st, 11th, and 12th divisions of the field, and the second cluster was to attack the Linqing area from the Nangong and Qinghe lines. The third cluster is composed of the 7th Field Division, the 21st Division, and the 22nd Division, and the offensive route of the third cluster is along the line of Dongguang, Dadan, and Zhaizi, directly attacking Leling, Qingyun, Yangxin, Wudi and other places in northern Lubei, and then the three clusters are surrounded by troops in Dezhou. As for Han Yunhua himself, he led the remaining three infantry divisions as the general reserve of the entire army, from which he commanded the overall operation.

Of course, the actions of the Chinese army could not be concealed from the eyes of the Japanese army, and Han Yunhua did not intend to conceal the whereabouts of his troops, because once the battle escalated to the level of division and brigade or even the level of the group army, it would be very difficult to hide from the opponent. In addition, the Japanese army has now built a new aviation group, and more than 30 reconnaissance planes alone are equipped, and most of Hebei is under the supervision of Japanese planes.

Jinan, Shandong. Headquarters of the North China Front of the Japanese Army.

It has been a full month since Okamura Ningji arrived in Jinan, and he also has a certain understanding of the current situation of the Japanese army, and now the two main forces of the North China Front Army have almost rested, and the First Army originally stationed in Shanxi has also recovered a certain combat effectiveness after more than a month of replenishment, but because the First Army has suffered a great loss of vitality after all, a month is not enough to fully recover its peak combat effectiveness, so the First Army was transferred to the Lunan area by Okamura Ningji as the general reserve of the whole army. …,

Sitting in his office, Okamura's brow furrowed, the news from the front was becoming more and more surprising, and the actions of the Chinese army were becoming more and more unsettling. Although their original intention was to force the Chinese army to fight a decisive battle with their front army, Han Yunhua's attitude was diametrically opposite, not cowering as Okamura Ninji thought, but looking very cheerful.

The suspicious Okamura Ninji didn't think that Han Yunhua couldn't see the tactics of the front army, otherwise he wouldn't have forced General Terauchi Shouichi, General Binshan Yuan, and General Tada Jun into a desperate situation, and he was even less worthy of being called China's military god. Since Han Yunhua had insight into the battle plan of the front army, why did he take the initiative to send it to the door, things are abnormal and demonic, which made Okamura Ningji puzzled.

Lieutenant General Tsuchihashi, the commander of the Twelfth Army on the side, asked suspiciously: "Your Excellency, is there something wrong, hasn't there been news from Tegaoke that the people of China have taken the bait, so are you worried about the combat effectiveness of the imperial army?" ”。

Okamura Ningji sighed and said: "Tsuchihashi-kun, you are too underestimated of the Chinese army, and even more underestimated Han Yunhua, the general of the Chinese branch, he can force Terauchi Shouichi to return to China in disgrace and force His Excellency Binshan Yuan to death, and some time ago he killed His Excellency Tada Jun on the battlefield, and only one officer above the major general of the entire Northern China Front Army escaped, we must not be careless about such a person." Then he said: "It's not that I don't believe in the fighting power of the imperial army, but the performance of the people of China this year has far exceeded our expectations, according to my estimates, the war is going on at this point, both the empire and the relatively much backward China have reached the point of exhaustion, otherwise the empire would not have been able to adopt such an extremely risky strategy and tactics as declaring war with the United States to continue such a war." But now the people seem to have a new vitality, and the combat effectiveness of their troops has generally improved, whether it is bayonet fighting technology, shooting accuracy, or tactical literacy has been greatly improved, especially the command level of their officers has changed dramatically, it seems that they have all undergone formalized military education, but there is no lack of traces of peasant command, which is very puzzled. What worries me the most is that the renewal of their weapons and equipment does not seem to be much worse than that of the empire, and its Saibei industrial area has already reached a considerable scale, although it is not enough to maintain the combat needs of all the troops of the Chinese people, but it can meet the battle of Han Yunhua's department, so I am not optimistic about this Shandong battle. ”

"Nani, Your Excellency, do you think the Imperial Army will be defeated like the battle some time ago?" Tsuchihashi asked with some surprise at one point.

"No, this time the imperial army will not lose, but it will not win, the people of China are not aiming to fully occupy Shandong this time, they only want to keep the battle line between the two sides on the border between Shandong and Hebei, and even hope to advance a little into Shandong. However, they will definitely not go deep into the hinterland of Shandong, because the people of China are not monolithic, and their internal contradictions have not been eliminated, and Han Yunhua and the entire Communist Party will not fully enter Shandong until they think of how to deal with the relationship between them and the Chiang clique. Okamura Ninji is worthy of being a China expert, and even more worthy of being touted by the Japanese as a rare famous general in terms of command and combat, and he pointed out the most serious difficulties facing the CCP now.

In the eyes of the Japanese, Okamura Ninji is synonymous with the qualities of wisdom, insight, decisiveness, and strong will, and Okamura Ninji, who has come to China several times, is very aware of the dirt between these political parties in China, and the Japanese have never given up their political inducement to surrender to the Nationalist Government, so they are very familiar with some situations within the Nationalist Government. …,

"Your Excellency, haven't the people of China already established the so-called anti-Japanese national united front, although there are contradictions between them, they will not make trouble at this time, after all, this will only make the empire profitable, the Chiang government in Chongqing and Mao in Yan'an will not be so stupid, right? Quite a few words" Tsuchihashi obviously had an opinion on Okamura Ninji's view, and he did not think that the contradictions between the Nationalist Government of China were irreconcilable, after all, it was a fact that the KMT and the CCP cooperated again after ten years of confrontation.

Okamura Ninji frowned and said, "Tsuchihashi-kun, you don't know about Shina, let alone the people of Shina. A branch of people is a dragon, and a group of people of China is a worm. They are a group of people who are full of internal strife genes in their bones, so the infighting between them is extremely tragic, just like a group of peasants in China almost broke the entire Qing Dynasty eighty years ago, and the decline of China is not unrelated to the infighting between them. They have been fighting among themselves ever since the British opened the gates of China with steam-engined ships and cannons, and I believe that if the Empire had not been so anxious to enter China, they would have continued to fight. Before the empire invaded China, the main contradiction within the countries of China was their internal contradictions, but after the empire invaded China, the national contradiction became the main contradiction in China, so the Chiang government and Mao's Communist Party cooperated. But as long as the empire's oppression of the Chiang government is loosened a little, then the Chiang government will be furious with the Communist Party, so although Han Yunhua dispatched a lot of troops this time, he did not dare to go deep into the hinterland of Shandong, and Dezhou was their limit. ”

Tsuchihashi was not a fool at one time, and if he was a fool, he would not have been promoted to the commander of the Twelfth Army Corps, and Tsuchihashi also had a certain understanding of China, as an instructor at the Artillery School and a member of the Ordnance Bureau, he went to China on a business trip in 1922 and was hired by the Beijing government as an instructor at Beijing Land University. He has been in China for six years, and these six years and six years are the whole process of China's domestic ** from rise to failure, so after listening to Okamura Ningji's words, Tsuchihashi was also deeply touched.

"Yo Xi, Your Excellency is worthy of being a Chinese expert, you have high attainments in the society, politics and culture of China, and you have served in the army headquarters of the China Garrison Army, the Taiwan Army Staff Department and other armies, so you also have a certain understanding of the history of China, so I agree with your point of view, but I don't think that the China Army can get benefits in the hands of our Imperial Japanese Army, you must know that the front army has never been as strong as it is now, and it will not be long before domestic recruits will go ashore in Qingdao, At that time, the imperial army in Shandong will reach an unprecedented 400,000 people, and as far as I know, the Eighth Route Army was only 40,000 34 years ago, and Han Yunhua's headquarters will not exceed 400,000 now. When the time comes, let alone hold Shandong, even if it is a counterattack against North China, it is not impossible. Therefore, he believed that in this battle, Han Yunhua's troops would inevitably pay heavy casualties, and even it was possible that all the troops attacking Shandong would stay in Shandong. "Tsuchihashi once said.

Lieutenant General Tsuchihashi was not a vegetarian either, and his experience was very similar to that of Okamura Ninji, who also started from the grassroots level, and was born in 1886 until August 1935, when he was promoted to major general. He has served as the head of the General Affairs Department of the Technical Headquarters of the Japanese Army, and the principal of the Army Mechanization School. In July 1938, he became a lieutenant general and served as the commander of the 22nd Division of the newly organized garrison unit, stationed in Hangzhou, and in November 1940, he succeeded Iida Sadagu as the commander of the 12th Army in Shandong. The 55-year-old Tsuchihashi can be called an expert in operational command, and his experience in operational command is very rich, so he does not believe that the Japanese army will lose the battle of northern Lubei.

Okamura Ninji was about to say something when a female officer in a major general's uniform walked in and shouted, "Report"...,

Okamura Ninji looked up and said, "Come in"

"Your Excellency Commander, just now there is a call from the special high-tech department, more than 10,000 people from the 300th Division of the main force of Han Yunhua's headquarters are in the old city, and more than 9,000 people from another infantry brigade are stationed in Xinzhuang Town, and there is also an infantry division in Longhua Town and is heading towards Wang Tong." The female officer said in a deep voice.

Okamura Ningji took a magnifying glass and looked at the map spread on the desk, and asked: "Yamaguchi, the Shina army must be more than just like this, according to the intelligence of your intelligence department, the total number of Shina people in these places is only tens of thousands, and according to the aerial photos sent back by our reconnaissance plane, there should be at least 250,000 people in China, which is not much different from the total strength of the front army. Do you understand? ”

"Your Excellency, according to the intelligence of Tegaoke, the Chinese have also gathered a large number of troops in Qinghe in the south of Dezhou and Wuqiao and Dongguang on the back, but so far they have not made any move towards Shandong." The female officer who spoke was also an old opponent of the Inner Mongolia Military Region, and if Han Yunhua was here, he would definitely be able to recognize this gorgeous female officer as Yamaguchi Meizi, the head of the Japanese army's intelligence agency in North China.

Although Qian Zhuangfei's intelligence organs were weak due to their short time, the threat to the special high-tech was not too great, but the Military Command Bureau of the Nationalist Government was different, and Dai Li's own intelligence reconnaissance ability and sensitivity were extremely outstanding, so when he saw that the Chinese Communists swept the Japanese troops in North China into the sea like the autumn wind sweeping away the leaves, he seized the fighter plane and ordered the intelligence organs of the Military Command Bureau to immediately dispatch to destroy the secret strongholds of the Special High-tech Branch.

In addition, in order to obtain a large amount of intelligence, the special high-tech accepted a lot of double-sided agents, and under the betrayal of these double-sided and even three-sided multi-faceted spies, the intelligence network of the special high-tech region in North China was devastated, and even Yamaguchi Meizi herself was assassinated many times in a short period of time.

However, Yamaguchi Umeko still escaped the final destruction, she escaped from Beiping City with her henchmen from secret channels before the Chinese army broke the city, and General Tada Jun originally had a chance to escape, but he knew that even if he escaped from Beiping City, he could not escape the end of the military court, so he stayed in Beiping and became a martyr for the North China Front.

After escaping from Beiping, Yamaguchi Meizi did not dare to make any stops in North China, and fled directly to Shandong under the protection of several henchmen. Tsuchihashi was an old subordinate of Yamaguchi Umeko's father, so he was very happy that Yamaguchi Umeko was able to escape from Beiping Castle, and soon organized all the big and small leaders of the intelligence agencies in the Shandong region, and then handed them over to Yamaguchi Umeko's command.

After Okamura Ninji arrived in Shandong, he was surprised to learn that Yamaguchi Umeko had escaped, and he also took the initiative to send a report to the base camp, requesting that Yamaguchi Umeko continue to stay in the North China Front to preside over the work. In view of the fact that Umeko Yamaguchi was the only officer above the rank of major general who escaped alive in the North China Front Headquarters, in order to rebuild the North China Front, the base camp also agreed to Okamura Ninji's request.

"Yo Xi, Yamaguchi, you have done a very good job, but it still needs to be strengthened, the reason why the people of China were able to defeat the front army in such a short period of time is that there is another very important reason in addition to the huge difference in the strength of the enemy and us, that is, the intelligence agency of the China people is very powerful, and your special high-tech department has not been able to stop the infiltration of the intelligence agency of China in a timely manner. So I hope you can take this as a warning and build a strong intelligence force for the Imperial Front," Okamura Ninji commented on Umeko Yamaguchi's work.

"Hai will never fail to live up to the trust and cultivation of His Excellency the General," Umeko Yamaguchi said loudly.

After experiencing these setbacks, Yamaguchi felt that she had matured a lot, and she also realized the strength of the Chinese army, especially the intelligence penetration and counter-reconnaissance capabilities of the Chinese. Although Han Yunhua's intelligence penetration capability is not strong, its counter-reconnaissance capability is very strong. And the Military Command Bureau of the Nationalist Government is quite powerful in terms of intelligence reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance capabilities, so far Yamaguchi Meizi no longer dares to underestimate the Chinese army and Chinese......